LindaK

I've only used condensed milk--the sweetened version--in a vietnamese coffee ice cream and it was fantastic, the best coffee ice cream I've ever had. Topped with a little chocolate sauce, oh my. And I don't have much of a sweet tooth. I've been making lots of fruit ice creams. Strawberry with sour cream, another version with yogurt. And if you like peach ice cream be sure to try an apricot version if you can get good ones. They need to be cooked lightly first with a bit of sugar, but it was sublime. Add a few drops of almond extract. For sorbets. I like melons. Honeydew with lime, yum.

Hmm, this is a good question, cherries are plentiful and relatively cheap at the moment, and I never thought about savory. According to Eatyourbooks, here are some recipes on my shelf that sound appealing: cherry mustard marmalade -- Modernist Cuisine cherries as olives (Cerezas como aceitunas) -- Made in Spain, José Andrés sweet and sour cherries -- Cooking of SW France, Paula Wolfert cherry vinegar -- the Improvisational Cook, Sally Schneider plus many recipes for cherry cordials and liquors, if that interests you

In honor of today's Fête Nationale in France and Marie Antoinette's famous pronouncement "qu'ils mangent de la brioche" (let them eat brioche), I tried my hand at the marbled chocolate brioche. Aside from leaving it the oven a bit too long, it turned out well--it was quite delicious. Apologies for the lousy picture.

Wow. I don't know what I want more--a plate of that incredible fish and chips or ANY meal overlooking that lovely bay. Great photos. Question about the photo inside Fiskehuset. What's in the display case? Looks like smoked fish but also other things I can't identify.

It's not an app, so there's nothing to download and should work with any smartphone. When you access EYB from your phone, it will now default to the mobile version. Then I just added an icon to my phone screen--and voila, one click and you're there. There's a FAQ page on the website with more details on this.

It's mousse consistency, or at least spreads very easily. No thick chunks or crumbly layers.

Sad. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook was to me, growing up, what Joy of Cooking was others. I have a copy and still use it for a reference, the clarity of her explanations and recipes will alway make it useful.

thanks for posting the video. Yes, it's always pork liver, and why most of us probably only want a light smear of it on our bahn mi. More than that and the gaminess and richness would overwhelm the other flavors. Long ago, once or twice I ordered my bahn mi sans pate, not being a fan of pork liver. Big mistake (aside from the look I got from the guy making the sandwich). The only analogy I can think of is from music--it tasted as if the bass note was missing against all those bright flavors. If that makes sense.

I never thought I would covet a fish head. Well done.

I've been making a lot from David Lebovitz's book lately as a way to capture summer fruit. Strawberry ice cream and frozen yogurt, both excellent. Apricot ice cream, as the fruit has just appeared in the farmers market, fantastic and maybe my favorite so far. Not fruit, but the Vietnamese coffee ice cream was great, and topped with classic hot fudge sauce, the combination was transcendant, clearly the favorite of everyone else. Even I (who doesn't care for chocolate) scraped the last bits from the bowl.

David, I have no doubt that your sandwich was delicious, it certainly looked so to me. The only reason I commented on it being an "Americanized" version is because you noted at the start of this topic that you'd never had bahn mi before. I find it helpful to understand the baseline before i veer away from it and thought you might too. These days there are many riffs on bahn mi, between food trucks and restaurants, but even the tasty variations leave me craving the standard. A really good one gets the balance of flavors just so... Looking forward to yur next one.

Hey, thanks for blogging, this will be fun. I'm looking forward to the obligatory market photos. Local food shopping is always fascinating.

I'm envious of the folks who can get access to the proper baguettes. Last week I stopped into several bakeries in Chinatown (after having bought a bahn mi with shredded pork) and none of them had baguettes for sale. The folks who sold me the bahn mi told me they buy their bread from a bakery that doesn't sell retail. Maybe if enough of us keep asking at any of our local bakeries, someone will realize that there's a market for them. PS--that's a beauty, Pierogi!

Congratulations on your first bahn mi. It looks very tasty, but also very American. Too much, too big. Think French style, not NYC deli style. Much less pate. Thin slices of meat. Heavier on the salad than the meat. Sliver your veggies for pickles instead of using thick slices. And It looks like you're missing fresh jalapenos (not sriracha, please). Did you use cilantro? that's key for this sandwich. See Bruce's pic above, he's got the ratio right. Keep at it, it will be a tasty journey. Enjoy the crumbs!

Bump. You know it's summer when the cucumbers are plentiful. I have two plants this year and picked six cukes this morning, with plenty more to come. So I'm trying to break out of my tsatziki and quick pickle rut. This and a few other topics have some good ideas: I guess cucumber really is a fruit Drinks using cucumber Cucumber sandwiches Any new favorite cucumber recipes out there?

In her book The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum has a chapter for professionals that might be helpful to you. For scaling, it includes a chart "Percentages of Major Ingredients in Basic Cake Types" that provides the proportion of liquid, egg, flour, sugar, and fat for 10 different cake types (ex: pound, butter, sponge, etc). It also included numerous recipes for 150 servings. These are intended for use in making wedding cakes and other large-scale productions. Info on pan sizes, etc. too.

I'd second any recommendation for any pesto or chimichurri type sauce. Topped with a bit of oil, they keep well in the fridge for a few days. Depending on what you're serving, you can either simply add a dollop of the sauce or add some to a simple vinaigrette. In addition to the always delicious basil pesto, I am addicted to the green herb paste from Rick Bayless's Fiesta at Rick's, which is a puree of roasted garlic, roasted jalapenos, parsley, cilantro, and olive oil, salt. In the Bayless book it's used in a fish and cucumber ceviche (outstanding!) but I like it equally well brushed on grilled summer veggies or to spice up a vinaigrette for substantial salads--try ripe tomatoes, corn, green beans, and potatoes.

For a friend's July 4 bbq, I brought two new beers from local brewery Pretty Things. American Darling--a full flavored lager. Loved this. Meadowlark IPA--very hoppy but well balanced. Generally I'm not an IPA girl, but this was really good.

So true about the bread. "Shatter" is exactly the right word to describe what happens when you eat it. Though my office is an easy walk to several good bahn mi shops, what keeps me from having a bahn mi lunch more often is having my desk--and me--covered with the crumbs that inevitably result from every bite. Standard baguette bread doesn't come close.

Well, if you want char sui in your bahn mi, you're in good company with Bruce. Though personally, I think the sweetness would be all wrong in bahn mi and would compete badly with the bright flavors of the pickled/fresh vegetables and herbs. Plus, there's already plenty of richness from the pate and mayo. Char sui is definitely not a substitute for the pate, which does not add sweetness, just the opposite--the light smear of liver pate gives the sandwich a funky, earthy note. A good bahn mi has a lot going on flavor-wise but is still balanced. My favorite bahn mi shop offers a bbq pork option that I'm pretty sure is a slow-roasted shoulder, but definitely not caramelized. I'll stop by tomorrow for lunch and find out.

Eatyourbooks now has a mobile version of its web site--a pared down version that makes it simple and fast to search for recipes and get a list of ingredients from your smartphone. I got an email alert yesterday, as I imagine all subscribers did, and tested it out immediately. It works really well. I've added it to my phone screen and think I'll use the site more often now. Nice work, Jane and colleagues!

Yep, that's one of the things that makes it so fabulous. And it's unpasteurised... heaven on a plate. Oh yes. Once you have a taste for blue, it's a slippery slope. Sounds like you've taken the first steps. Let us know when you have your Roquefort epiphany. I've noticed that no one has recommended any of the Danish blues that are often sold in U.S. supermarkets as "blue cheese." Personally, I find the stuff inedible and hold it responsible for much of the blue cheese loathing amongst my friends. Stay away from it, I beg anyone contemplating a foray into blue cheeses.

Slaw. Shredded golden beets with some cilantro, scallions, and a gingery dressing. Also works well as a slaw with other veggies without the Asian accent. Chips. Slice very thin, toss with oil, salt, and bake til crisp. I suppose you could fry them too but I've never bothered. Ice cream. Okay, I haven't tried it. But Jenni's Spendid Ice Creams has a recipe for Beet Ice Cream with Marscapone, Orange Zest, and Poppy Seeds that has me wondering...

The WGBH site has videos of past episodes: http://www.wgbh.org/...d-Kitchens-1859 The two restaurants featured so far are very much casual neighborhood restaurants, though the two neighborhoods they've featured so far are two of Boston's most expensive. I'll be curious to see if they venture beyond downtown.

If the weather wasn't near 100F (and I don't have AC chez moi), I had hoped to make the "marbled chocolate brioche loaf" from Nick Malgieri's The Modern Baker to bring to a weekend gathering. But even if i wanted to turn on an oven, I expect the butter would melt in the process. But I will make it, when time and temperature allow, and report back. In addition to using chocolate, Malgieri's brioche technique is also untraditional, so I will be interested in the texture as well. If anyone has already tried it, I'd love to know what you think.